Sunday's race at Talladega is the ninth Nextel Cup event of the season. So it's not early in the season anymore.

After this weekend's race, there will be 17 remaining before the 10-race Chase for the Cup begins on Sept. 17. There's a long, hot summer ahead, but the idea that there's plenty of time for drivers who are off to slow starts in the points race to bounce back isn't necessarily the case.

Some observations with the pre-playoff portion of the season nearly one-third complete:

• Three biggest surprises — Richard Childress Racing is rebounding. Last week at Phoenix, all three company drivers were in the top 10. In point standings, Kevin Harvick is No. 8 after winning at Phoenix, rookie Clint Bowyer is No. 12 and Jeff Burton is No. 13. Harvick also won the Busch Series race at Phoenix. No Childress driver has qualified for the Chase in the two seasons it has been around.
Also, thanks to Kasey Kahne, Dodge is a factor again. Kahne has two wins, and Kurt Busch has another in a Dodge. The three wins matches the number by Dodge in 2005 and is two more than Ford and only one fewer than Chevy this season.

Finally, Kyle Busch is No. 9 in points with four top-10 finishes, while older brother Kurt, the former Nextel Cup champion, is No. 17 and has been in the top-10 just once.

• Biggest disappointment — By far, it has been Roush Racing's performance.
After all five drivers qualified for the Chase in '05, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray are far back this season.

• Three things to watch out for — Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are still looking for their first wins.
Both are in the top 10, but it will be difficult for them to qualify for the Chase without winning once.

Will Richard Childress find a way to get free-agent driver Kevin Harvick to stay, or will Toyota lure Harvick for 2007?

Finally, can Tony Stewart repeat as Nextel Cup champion? Why not? He's fifth overall and has five top 5s. He's just warming up.

Feels faster on water

There is more than one month between the first Champ Car race of the season on April 9 at Long Beach and the second event on May 13 in Houston.

So what's a driver to do? In the case of rookie Katherine Legge, she found time to take a spin in a test session before the Powerboard P1 World Championship in Italy.

Legge was eighth at Long Beach, the top finish by a woman in Champ Car history.

"I think all racers have a need for speed," said Legge. "It's an adrenalin thing. It wasn't easy, but I just did what I was told by Hannes and I had 100 percent faith in him because he's the best at what he does.

"You get much more of an impression of speed on water than you do on land."

Newman and Kalkhoven rode with Italian racer Mario Invernizzi, and Newman, 81, said his first speedboat ride was a kick.

"I like anything to do with motors," said Newman. "I've never been on one of these before."

Reliant construction

Track construction at Reliant Park for the Grand Prix of Houston on May 11-13 is rolling right along, but there is one section that won't be available for completion until May 6 due to the Offshore Technology Conference.

The rest of the track is nearly completed, including the catch-fencing and grandstands. Pit lane is finished, except for the starter stand. Tire barriers are in place and curb construction is nearing completion.

Dealing with a downer

How does a driver like Ryan Newman, who has qualified for the Chase two straight years, deal with a prolonged slump? Newman honestly answered the question during a teleconference this week.

"I think we're playing catch-up with a few things technology-wise, and I see that getting better over time. We're definitely to a point where we're struggling now. It's not that we're running fifth to seventh and not winning races. We're struggling to get to seventh at any point in the race."

Newman only has two top-10 finishes. He indicated that changes at Penske Racing during the offseason, such as the addition of Kurt Busch to take the place of retired Rusty Wallace and the dissolution of the No. 77 car, have had an effect on the team.

Newman said he and Busch have been getting along fine, which puts Newman in a distinct minority among Nextel Cup drivers.

"The relationship on and off of the racetrack has been fine," said Newman. "We're getting along fine, no hiccups at all. I don't know (what I expect of a teammate). It's been kind of go with the flow and learn. It's just a matter of a learning process."

Problems in New York

In most cases, what NASCAR wants, NASCAR gets. In the case of building a track on Staten Island, New York, it might be more difficult than usual.

According to the Associated Press, the International Speedway Corp., purchased a 675-acre tract of land on the island for $100 million with the intention of building a $600 million race track.

The France family, which runs NASCAR, also controls ISC, which owns or operates 11 major tracks, including Daytona and Talladega.

But everything isn't smooth on Staten Island. During a contentious public hearing on Thursday night in New York, a shouting match forced police to call a halt to the meeting. Nearly 1,000 people attended the hearing, during which fisticuffs nearly broke out between a construction worker in favor of the track and a politician opposed to it.

Supporters of the track say it will bring jobs and business to the area. Opponents say the island can't handle the traffic of the proposed arena.

According to the Staten Island Advance, the project took a major blow due to the wild meeting, when track supporters shouted down anyone opposed to the project.

The paper reported Friday that the district's three city councilmen predicted defeat for the project.

"The supporters of the track are certainly hurting their prospects," said councilman Michael McMahon. "I'm very troubled by the conduct. My knee-jerk reaction is that they've set their cause back, if not defeated it."

She's much more than 'not bad'

NHRA Top Fuel racer Melanie Troxel sits on the verge of history. Troxel has made the final round in all five races this season and is the first racer to do so in the Top Fuel category.

She also made the final round in the last race of 2005, so if she makes it on Sunday at Bristol, Tenn., Troxel will tie teammate Tony Schumacher with seven consecutive trips to the finals.

Troxel, who has two wins in the five finals, has built a 156-point lead over second-place Don Grubnic.

Clearly, Troxel's success has gone beyond the "she's not bad for a woman" comments she got at the start of the streak. She's the best there is in the most glamorous field in drag racing.

During a teleconference this week, Troxel discussed her role in expanding the number of female fans in drag racing.

"We get a large number of female fans that come by (my trailer at races) in general," said Troxel. "We're probably more aware of the female fan than the average driver.

"But certainly I think having women who are having more success in the sport attracts more women to it. It does seem like there's been an increase in the past six months to a year."

Troxel is quick to point out that despite her ability as a racer, she wouldn't be succeeding unless team owner
Don Schumacher and crew chief Richard Hogan were behind her.

"It doesn't matter how good of a driver you are, if you're not working with a team that has a car that has the capability of going out and winning, then it makes absolutely no difference," Troxel said. "Nobody's going to know how good of a driver you are."